Luk H. Vandenberghe

Biography

Luk Vandenberghe is Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and runs an active research laboratory at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Schepens Eye Research Institute. He directs the Grousbeck Gene Therapy Center which is focused on the biology of somatic gene transfer, the development of enabling technologies in gene therapy, and the translation of clinical programs with a particular emphasis on vision and hearing restoration. He is an Associate Director of the Ocular Genomics Institute, a collaborative venture within the Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology, with the ambition to provide diagnosis, treatment, and advancement of the science of the genetic basis of blinding disorders. Dr. Vandenberghe trained at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium in biological engineering and biomedical sciences. At the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA he was a scholar and researcher in several premier translational gene therapy laboratories there. He discovered, developed and characterized some of the most widely used gene therapy carriers for in vivo and ex vivo applications including AAV, adeno- and lentiviral-based vectors. Dr. Vandenberghe made groundbreaking contributions to better understand immune responses to AAV vectors and the targeting of cell types in the macula and retina important for genetic therapies for blindness. In his active career, he published over 40 peer reviewed articles and reviews. He is co-inventor on over a dozen published or pending patents including novel serotypes and improved manufacturing technologies of AAV.

Research Interest

Ophthalmology